Friday’s boys basketball season opener between Westbrook and Biddeford was supposed to pit two of the SMAA’s top big men against each other.
But with Westbrook’s 6’7″ center Dominic Borelli sidelined with back spasms and Biddeford’s 6’5″ center Cameron Neumann out for the year with a recently sustained broken wrist, both teams were forced to play without their top players.
In stepped Westbrook junior Nich Jobin, who stands 6’6″ himself. He showed three-point range and the ability to drive to the basket, and was a force on the boards, lifting the Blue Blazes to a 49-37 win at Westbrook High School.
Jobin finished with a game-high 19 points and Westbrook (1-0) broke in its new match-up zone defense, which made points hard to come by for the Tigers (0-1).
The Blazes jumped to a 9-0 lead and led 16-6 after the first quarter. Three-pointers by Jobin and Christian Hamilton (who finished with 12 points) spurred the early run by Westbrook. It took Biddeford more than four minutes to get its first points of the season. Abdirahman Mohamed’s layup finally broke the ice.
The Tigers got back-to-back baskets in the first minute of the second quarter from Tyler Laverriere and Mohamed to get within six, but would not get closer the rest of the way. They trailed 24-13 at the half and 35-22 entering the fourth quarter. It was not until the fourth, when Biddeford outscored Westbrook 15-14, that the Tigers reached double digits in a quarter. They struggled to work the ball inside and were just 2 of 17 on three-point attempts.
“We just made them take bad shots,” Jobin said. “We played with good intensity. This is a new defense. We’re not quite used to it, but we’re getting there.”
Mohamed scored five straight points midway through the third quarter to cut the Westbrook lead to seven at 27-20, but an 8-2 run by the Blazes – highlighted by an authoritative one-handed dunk by Jobin on which he was fouled – closed the quarter.
The Tigers got back within eight on a three by Nicholas Simpson with less than four minutes left in the game, but the Blazes made enough of their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Robin Wilson, Biddeford’s main inside presence without Neumann, had a solid all-around game and scored a team-high 11 points, while Mohamed added nine. No one else had more than one field goal for the Tigers. If they are to be successful, others players will need to step up offensively to replace Neumann’s points, Biddeford coach Mike Fecteau said.
“We have to play Westbrook, South Portland and T.A. in our first three games,” Fecteau said. “That’s a tough start, especially after losing our best player. We’ve got to find someone to step up and score those points. He’s 15- to 20-points-per-game player.”
Westbrook hopes to have Borelli back soon. In the meantime, Jobin has shown he can be the go-to guy.
“I felt obligated that I had to,” Jobin said. “Dom is a big part of (our scoring and rebounding). We all need to do more of that when he’s not there.”
While the early schedule is a tough one for the Tigers, they know they have some time to get things pointed in the right direction.
“It’s a long season,” Fecteau said. “These kids know that. I know they’ll give me everything they have. Now, we’ve just got to score some points.”
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